Some ideas

Post Reply
X-Calibar
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 9:25 pm

Some ideas

Post by X-Calibar »

Some background:
I debated on getting an EyeX device, the Kinect, or wait for the insight. These make for very interesting input devices, and reading about your software and seeing your videos in action were really eye opening and convinced me I could use one! In the end I choose the EyeX Tracker (SteelSeries Sentry Eye Tracker consumer device) as the most practical device for someone who does not rely on hands-free computer usage, but wants to enhance my computer experience/save my hand from unnecessary repetition. Unfortunately I probably can't afford to get the IRIS software right now since it's as much as the hardware... (and the Mouse software was way too high for me atm! I hope you have software sales someday ;])
But, I am trying out IRIS and had some ideas I thought I'd share:

Some ideas:
I wear glasses, and the EyeX is PRETTY accurate, but I find it is usually a bit off target. Too much so for 1920x1200 resolution high accuracy. So my current solution is to use the Tobii EyeX Interactive Mode, Mouse Warp on Mouse Move. This way I can look where I want it, then slightly move the mouse and correct for my target as long as I keep my eye focused on the same area. However, with IRIS I love turning on the high Gaze Filter, and Start Gaze Point, so that the mouse moves to wherever I look. Except, that it is too inaccurate by itself, without stressful off-centered target compensation on my part.

My idea: When I move my physical mouse, turn off Gaze Point Eye movement, so I can correct and click with the mouse. So I can have the mouse follow my gaze and then move the mouse when it's near the target so I can fine-tune it.
It would be good to have a cool-down setting, so you can specify how long after moving the mouse that the Gaze Point turns back on. (I'm thinking half a second?) Also this would work great with an automatic Hide Mouse Cursor option. Have it enable while Gaze Point is on, and disable when moving the mouse so you can fine tune it, and automatically turning back on after Gaze Point turns back on from lack of mouse movement.

Another idea I had for hands-free mouse movement: Relative mouse movement for fine tuning. When attempting to control the mouse simply by vision, using Gaze Point; I find it difficult to accurately hit small targets. My idea: Use absolute position or your normal mouse movement method while movement across the screen changes rapidly, but if the user looks at one place for a set period of time... Switch to relative movement (and probably reveal the cursor). Have a configurable dead-zone range around the cursor location, and as you look a bit to the right, it moves right, and so on. Then have it switch back to absolute if you look too far away with a configurable dwell time.

Yet another idea: When working with multiple monitors and using any Gaze Point, disable Gaze Point movement if the vision coordinates leave too far from the screen. And turn it back on when vision returns BACK to the main screen.

Keep up the good work. I like the software!
User avatar
Xcessity
Site Admin
Posts: 284
Joined: Sat May 16, 2015 2:23 pm
Location: Graz
Contact:

Re: Some ideas

Post by Xcessity »

Hi X-Calibar,

thank you very much for your feedback. I have to admit that currently it is very unusual that people enhance their conventional kb/mouse setup with an eyetracker. Still it is an interesting concept you mention, but currently my focus is more on hands-free control. I am already testing a few concepts including a solution to the offset problem. I can't disclose any information yet as I do not want my ideas to be stolen. The FPS mode is one of these concepts that worked out quite well and it will be included in the next update.

Thinking about your ideas: it would be very easy to implement such a thing using macros. The only thing that is missing is to know when the mouse cursor is moved by an actual mouse and not by the EyeX. I will have a look into that.

To your second idea. You might actually be able to achieve this behavior using an interactor. Make an invisible interactor that is as big as your main screen and let it toggle the gaze point on/off. With a macro you can achieve this behavior. I can help you writing this macro if you are interested.
X-Calibar
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 9:25 pm

Re: Some ideas

Post by X-Calibar »

Thanks for the quick response Xcessity!

Yeah, sadly I don't see many people out there writing reviews about using the consumer Sentry Eye Tracker for controlling mouse movement on the PC. It really is a neat technology, and I hope more people adopt the technology in the future. There's just nothing quite like just looking where you want to go and Poof! It's already there!

@IRIS and implementing my ideas:
I actually just had the idea to try using interactors right before reading this too! And on your further suggestion I gave it a try.

For the relative movement idea: First, I tried placing interactors for mouse movement overlapping the four sides of the monitor's frame/outside of the screen. This works pretty easily! Though it's not entirely ideal with a bigger monitor since you can't keep an eye on the cursor's movement on the other side of the screen.

Next, I tried making a nearly full-screen cursor interactor; for each of the four directions. And at the very middle of the screen, an interactor that switches profile to a blank with a button to load it again. That ... kinda works! But, gives my eyes a dancing work out...
(Actually before this, I tried doing everything on a single profile using the activate button key press ON an interactor. But it turns out, when there's an interactor with a press and hold activate key; all interactors that require the activation key will stay on while the activate key is being pressed. Though, that could be useful for something probably...)

I guess the *ideal* solution if I used interactors... assuming I can't use a macro to have their interactor location move and appear around the cursor automatically when the profile is loaded... Would be to create a ton of location specific profiles:
First, a top level interactor that loads a profile that has the entire screen filled with many interactors that will change to yet another profile if vision focuses on a location specific interactor long enough. Then finally it loads a specific profile, with directional interactors right around the previous interactor that loaded it. Whew! But, let's not go there yet...

As for the multi-monitor gaze switch idea, just making a single keypress interactor that covers the full screen works to turn on Gaze Point; then looking at the other monitors would be another interactor that presses it again, disabling gaze point... But, still nothing would beat being able to turn Gaze Point on/off from just touching the mouse to move...

Anyway! Your interactor tool is great. Putting some interactors where the red lights glow on the EyeX bar makes for easy to remember vision buttons!

Well, I hope I get to try that new FPS mode and kinesic mouse in the future... (No camera yet!)
Best of luck.
Post Reply